McDonald’s to Expand Tuition Benefits for Employees

The latest news out of fast food giant McDonald’s has many of its workers saying, “I’m lovin’ it.” The restaurant behemoth announced earlier this week that it plans to triple the amount of tuition assistance as well as lower the eligibility requirement to take advantage of the newly revamped program.

In an official statement on March 29, 2018, the McDonald’s Corporation announced it “will allocate $150 million over five years to its global Archways to Opportunity education program,” which is designed to assist McDonald’s employees with their costs for higher education.

The statement said that the expansion will make the program accessible to nearly 400,000 U.S. restaurant employees. McDonald’s plans to lower the eligibility requirements down from nine months to just 90 days of employment, and lower the weekly shift minimums from 20 hours to just 15 hours per week.

The program — touted by McDonald’s as “an opportunity to earn a high school diploma, receive upfront college tuition assistance, access free education advising services and learn English as a second language” — is also being partially extended to some restaurant employees’ family members through Cengage and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

The updated policy, reportedly accelerated by the change in U.S. tax law, now offers eligible crew members $2,500 per year for higher education expenses — a jump from the current $700 per year. For managers, that number jumps to $3,000 per year — more than doubling the current tuition assistance of $1,050.

The new program goes into effect May 1, 2018, with the tuition assistance retroactively effective as of Jan. 1, 2018.

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